


Falling Off the Cliff Twice

by BlueDarknessIceHeart



Series: The Beat of Moth's Wings [9]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Chronic Pain, Established Relationship, F/M, Loss of Limbs, Major Character Injury, Masks, Not Canon Compliant, Reunited Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:25:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDarknessIceHeart/pseuds/BlueDarknessIceHeart
Summary: It was silent for a moment before he saw the glint of black and gold on the table near her."Did Admete-""She is... grievously injured. Barely survived, may not still,  but she wouldn't have been in a remotely stable condition if not for you."He stood, a heavy feeling in his chest that wound up his throat, and grabbed the few things Mercy had scavenged from his demolished room back at the rubble that used to be HQ.He took care to pocket the ring, his own with it.(Previously titled 'The Fall - And Then Some')





	1. Death Walking

**Author's Note:**

> The very first things I wrote for Admete and Gabriel, the fall of Overwatch (so very non-canon now, with all the new lore, but we're rolling with it)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crack of her staff against the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks, might have been too late but the glow of light still took.
> 
> The outcome wasn't what she expected in the least.
> 
> Something, somewhere, between a too late revival and healing gone awry, Gabriel Reyes didn't emerge the same.

Mercy had gone back into the rubble of what used to be their home. What was once a building of safety, of peace, was now the remains of a war zone.

  
She had gotten Jack out first, bleeding and broken but alive she ushered him away with hastily wrapped gauze pads and a promise she would find Gabriel. And she did. A mangled, barely breathing, pile of himself wrapped around another body she couldn't quite see - she found Gabriel Reyes.

  
She finally saw the curls of Admete's hair, the tight grip of Gabriel's arms around her equally battered body, and took off into the remains of the base to find her staff where it had fallen from where she'd been standing when the fight broke out.

And so she donned her gear, and went to work - the desperation behind her work showing as she moved him from around Admete, focused on trying to move shallow, shuddering, breaths to something that didn't make her chest ache.

The crack of her staff against the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks, might have been too late but the glow of light still took.

  
The outcome wasn't what she expected in the least.

  
Something, somewhere, between a too late revival and healing gone awry, Gabriel Reyes didn't emerge the same.

  
Which is why when he woke up to the familiar sight of a bright yellow light, and a worried, choked sob of "Oh, Gabriel, I'm so sorry." he barely managed to get out a "Why" before being dragged back into unconsciousness.

When he truly woke, feeling too light for his body and like his brain was going to leak out of his ears, he stared at her. He was cold, and he hated the cold.

  
She stared at him, once brown eyes now miscoloured into red. Skin the same rich colour it had been when he first lived, but as if someone had yanked the saturation of the colour out of him, and it seemed as if he was only losing colour as time moved on. He looked the same for the moment, yet so vastly different. Death's touch so obviously present.

  
It hit home when he spoke for the first time. "What.. exactly, did you do?"

  
Mercy stared.

  
"Angela, what happened back there?"

  
Blue eyes, brimming with tears, locked on red and she swore she could still see the deep brown in them.

  
He looked taken aback as tears rolled down her cheeks, and he wanted to comfort her for a moment but refrained.

  
"I tried to save you, but the damage was too much. And I didn't have my staff or my suit and I went to get them and you were... you were gone when I got back but I - I brought you back! It's not that abnormal, with the healing tech in the Valkyrie Suit, but it must've been too long or-or maybe your cells just suffered too much damage for the healing to work I -" she rambled, shaking as she tried to explain.

  
"So, this is your fault. I'm here, _like this_ , because you couldn't just let me go?"

  
She nodded.

  
It was silent for a moment before he saw the glint of black and gold on the table near her.

  
"Did Admete-"

  
"She is... grievously injured. Barely survived, may not still,  but she wouldn't have been in a remotely stable condition if not for you."

  
He stood, a heavy feeling in his chest that wound up his throat, and grabbed the few things Mercy had scavenged from his demolished room back at the rubble that used to be HQ.

  
He took care to pocket the ring, his own with it.

  
And what used to be Gabriel Reyes left in a quick movement of cold air and Mercy felt something prick along her spine that unsettled her.


	2. Death's Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Admete started into consciousness, fought her way back to the living world with a noise from the very depths of her being and it was a choked name that made her feel like she had tried to spit fire. She blinked her vision into focus, found the familiar glow of the Valkyrie suit. 
> 
> "What happened Ziegler." she spoke, voice raspy and unsteady.

_An explosion. Fire. Someone yelling to her to leave. People running, screaming. Blood. So, so much blood. Someone clinging to her very very tightly before that grip faded. Pain. Insufferable pain. Inevitable pain._

Admete started into consciousness, fought her way back to the living world with a noise from the very depths of her being and it was a choked name that made her feel like she had tried to spit fire. She blinked her vision into focus, found the familiar glow of the Valkyrie suit. 

"What happened Ziegler." she spoke, voice raspy and unsteady. 

Mercy startled, turning to the woman behind her. "Oh, good lord, you're actually awake! Oh, no, Admete, lay back down. I don't know if you can even walk yet." Angela gently pushed the older woman back down onto the bed. 

"Why wouldn't I be able to walk, Angela? What the hell happened? I -" she stopped, suddenly noting the severe lack of at least one other person. "Angela where the hell is Gabriel?" 

The doctor couldn't keep the former Blackwatch agent down this time as she sat up, looking around the room. "You need to fill me in. Now. Everything. I know they can't be dead, they're too fucking stubborn." Admete could feel the panic bubbling up in her throat. 

Mercy sighed, sitting down on the bed across from Admete. "Jack survived, escaped and allowed everyone to think he's dead. Gabriel..." Ziegler trailed, the dead air hanging heavy and Admete could feel herself losing what little grip on her control she had. "Angela did you do nothing for him? Did you even try? Did you just let him die!?" she spat the words, panic finally seeping into her voice, her voice pitching upwards and breathing becoming shallow. 

Angela's eyes went wide, placing her hands on Admete's face only to be batted away. 

"He's alive, Admete. Just... not entirely." 

Admete stared at her, tears already tracked down her cheeks. 

"Something went wrong when I brought him back, it didn't take properly. His cells... they're constantly regenerating now." 

Admete's hazel eyes never left Angela's blue ones. 

"You refused to leave the building. Refused to leave Gabriel's side. Loyalty until, even beyond, death. Rubble fell on you, crushed you. You almost died, Admete. If you hadn't been moving at the time, you'd have been pinned. Instead you were tangled up with Gabriel." Angela's head finally fell. 

"So what did you do to me? How badly am I fucked over, Ziegler?" Admete's voice was still cold. 

"You nearly lost your left arm. Potential spinal damage, I couldn't tell. I reconnected your arm to your body and spine with cybernetic plating and a spinal attachment. Full use of everything in your body." Mercy rattled off, and Admete paled, finally looking at her body. She had many more scars now than when she was younger. Her arms were much more scarred than they had ever been, her torso as well. The cybernetic moved as she turned her head, and she looked away. 

"You should've just taken it off." 

"You're left handed and from the look on your face, you want to shoot me, majority of your former handlers, and even Jack. You need two guns for what you do. It was this or nothing." 

Admete practically growled, pushing off the bed and standing, brushing past a frantic Mercy trying to get her to sit back down. 

"Thank you for the concern, Angela, but I have things to do. Give me my things so I can go." 

She pretended to not notice the severe lack of her ring, put it down to the explosion - another thing for Overwatch to have from her as she gathered the very few things she'd had on her from the fight. 

"You and Gabriel are so much alike, Admete." 

"I suppose that's why death favored us both."


	3. Masks of Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Admete had had a feeling, something that bordered on idiotic levels of hope when Reaper appeared. 
> 
> Yanking the mask off of his face, snapping the band in the process, was most likely the worst way of going about settling the thought process.

Admete had had a feeling, something that bordered on idiotic levels of hope when Reaper appeared. 

Yanking the mask off of his face, snapping the band in the process, was most likely the worst way of going about settling the thought process.

Gabriel held his hand out, "Give me my mask back." 

The relieved laughter that bubbled out of her as she pulled the mask closer to her nearly drowned him out. "Nah. You're not getting it back until I'm done with you. So, like, never." 

He sighed, raspy agitation seeping into the sound. 

Admete tipped her head before walking off, Gabriel right by her side.

It was silent as they moved throughout the moonlight building. 

Admete spoke first. "So, the run down I was given is that I'm an idiot for being overtly loyal and if I hadn't been moving when I was because someone happened to yell at me, I would've died." 

She looked over to him, watching his face for a reaction. 

She pretended like she didn't see the grimace. 

When she stopped, she barely got the chance to speak before he cut her off.

"You're doing that thing you do." he noted, eyes roaming over her. 

"The caring? Yeah, amazing, I know. It's like we got married or something." she scoffed, looking down at the mask in her hands. 

Gabriel watched her carefully. 

"You do know if we're ever found together it'll be dangerous, Admete." he sighed as he spoke. 

"Yes, but you also happen to be incredibly hard to kill and I'm a little different now as I'm sure you've noticed about eighty times." she snapped back. 

"...Yes." 

"I almost lost my left arm, potential spinal damage from the rubble that landed on me. The last thing I remember feeling before I was unconscious was you holding on to me." she could feel her eyes brimming with tears again. 

She held his mask out to him. 

He took it, but didn't put it on. 

"You shouldn't have been in the building, Admete. That wasn't the plan." 

"Like I would've let you die. I would've dragged you out, hell or high water." she practically growled, moving forwards to get in his space.

She was practically nose to nose with him, could feel the constantly in flux temperature rolling off of him. 

She didn't expect him to pull her into a damn near crushing hug, her voice muffled into his chest. 

"Like I'd abandon you. I was told, at one point, we are very alike. That my loyalty must run beyond death for me to pull such a thing. And now here we stand." she pulled away from him, Gabriel wiping away tears from her cheek. 

"Admete, love, I understand. But there are much bigger issues than us." 

"When have there not been?" her laugh was short, almost bitter. "Fill me in. I've got two perfectly good guns and better aim than ever." 

Gabriel finally gave a grin that was all sharp teeth instead of something bittersweet. 

Admete punched him on the arm. "Shut the fuck up with that, let's go. It's been a while since I've worked a mission because some people don't like letting me do things. Going where the money is isn't as easy as you think." 

"Tell me about it." he snorted and went to put his mask back on, only for it to slip off of his face. 

Admete snorted out a laugh, quickly darting out of his reach when he glared. "Woops! Maybe someone should get a better method of holding shit on!" 

He shook his head, laughter rumbling through his chest.


	4. Chronic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time it happened; pain that crippled her to the point she dropped both Atropos guns, her muscles tensing and it felt like they were being shred apart and stitched back together again all in one go - she was alone.

The first time it happened; pain that crippled her to the point she dropped both Atropos guns, her muscles tensing and it felt like they were being shred apart and stitched back together again all in one go - she was alone. 

She figured it was the damage the fall had done, the permanent mark of forever exposed muscles and peeking bone that lay under the metal that hooked into nerves along her left arm and shoulder. 

When it happened again, she'd been reunited with Gabriel for a handful of months. 

Of course he was the one that noticed the black that tinted her veins, curling out from under the metal to paralyze her hand and he didn't risk touching her - the way her hazel eyes were bright with fear reminding him too much of himself. 

It was worse this time, the pain licking up her spine and keeping her rooted where she stood. 

When Gabriel finally risked moving her, the noise she made was one similar to an animal in pain with tears streaking down her cheeks and the apologies coming from him as he settled her onto the bed with care she hadn't seen in years only made her feel worse.

It wasn't his fault, she knew that. 

It started with her regaining the movement in her fingers, and then her arm. 

Admete, with careful yet shallow breaths, moved her hand ever so slowly over to Gabriel's where he had it near her on the bed. 

Speaking hurt, took more effort than it ever should with the paralyzing pain that had curled its way around her ribcage. 

"It's not - your fault." 

It took more hours and more of Gabriel's worried, nearly guilty, look until she was finally able to sit up. 

The black that curled out from under the cybernetics on her arm had faded, but the noise Gabriel made as he checked the one that held her together, hooked into her spine, told her it wasn't pretty. 

"It's not going to get better." his voice sounded distressed, as much as he tried to hide it, and she turned to face him with a wince. 

"Gabe-" 

"Admete, I know for a fact." 

"Is this what you were talking about?" 

The heavy sigh paired with the agitated run of a hand through the curls atop his head told her enough. 

She damned the spiteful spark of pain in her shoulder as she threw her arms around him. 

"I'm so sorry Gabe." 

"Not your fault." 

It was silent for a moment as she let go. 

"So is it constant, or does the feeding help it?" 

"Some days are worse - no moving, bet on me doing fucking nothing. The feeding helps, keeps me together most of the time." 

"No offense, babe, but I don't think I can feed my arm souls." 

"I don't think you need to do that. I think it's just what happens when Ziegler gets there too late." 

She gave a snort, reaching a hand forwards to intertwine their fingers together. 

"Well. Not much we can do about it except get some top notch pain killers." 

"Sounds like a plan."


	5. Matching Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How'd you even get this made? There's tech in this I haven't seen in a long time." she traced a finger over the incredibly dimly lit mouth piece, and then the carving at the top. 
> 
> "I have my ways." Gabriel shrugged, and she yanked him down to the bed next to her with a sharp tug on his arm. 
> 
> "Thank you, Gabe. It even matches the rest of the metal in me." she shot him wide grin at the poorly muffled snort.

Admete stared at the mask that had been pushed into her hands, and then to Gabriel. She wasn't even able to get the beginning of the "why" out of her mouth before he was answering the unasked question. 

"You're a wanted fugitive and you don't need anymore scars." 

"While valid, I think you're just upset because I keep getting hit on because of my drop dead gorgeous face." 

She wasn't met with even a chuckle and she frowned. 

"That was funny and you fucking know it." 

"Why do I even-" 

"Put up with me? Because I'm great in bed, have a great shot, and we've been together for too long for you to give up now. That'd be you losing." her grin was teeth and challenge but her hazel eyes gleamed with the softer sides of everything she felt. 

"How'd you even get this made? There's tech in this I haven't seen in a long time." she traced a finger over the incredibly dimly lit mouth piece, and then the carving at the top. 

"I have my ways." Gabriel shrugged, and she yanked him down to the bed next to her with a sharp tug on his arm. 

"Thank you, Gabe. It even matches the rest of the metal in me." she shot him wide grin at the poorly muffled snort. 

"Told you I'm funny." 

"Shut up and try it on." 

Admete shook her head, curls still unbrushed and wild around her face. "Help me with it, you practically live in a damn mask. I've never put one on." 

Gabriel gave a small sigh, and she handed the mask over. 

She held her hair up, baring the mesh of metal and flesh, where the apparatus that practically held her together hooked into her spine. 

He shifted behind her, settling the thick yet lightweight material over her face and she heard it fasten behind her head, and then click into the metal right behind her ear. 

"Can you breathe alright?" 

"Yeah - oh wow that's weird." she looked back at him, surprise evident in her eyes at the difference in her voice. 

"It takes a little bit of getting used to, but I know you'll adapt. How does it sit? No gaps, not too tight?" 

She felt him pressing and poking, hard enough to test but not hard enough to hurt to find anything wrong with the mask. 

"It's fine, love. Pretty thing, too." she was tracing the carving, careful not to block the hidden slots for her to breathe through with her hand. 

"Had to make it pretty to match you." 

"Now don't go making me want to kiss you when I can't." 

"Why do I feel like that won't stop you?" the arch of his brow above eyes that were lacking black sclera and most of the crimson hue to them had her grinning behind the mask. 

She bopped the mask gently against his scarred cheek. "Because it won't. Now get it off of me so I can kiss you proper."


End file.
